Orchard heater



1938. R. R. BRUNER ET AL 2,130,227

ORCHARD HEATER Filed June 1, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 13, 1938 ATENIT oFFicE ORCHARD HEATER Ralph E. Bruner and Lee Roy Redden,

Loma Linda, Calif.

Application June 1, 1935, Serial No. 24,512

7 Claims.

Our invention relates generally to orchard heaters and more particularly to the ventilating and ignition devices therefor.

The principal objects of our invention are, to generally improve upon and simplify the construction and operation of the existing forms of orchard heaters and their Ventilating and ignition devices, further, to provide relatively simple and practical means for igniting the gases that pass upwardly through the stack that projects upwardly from the tank of the heater in order to insure complete combustion of all of the ignitable gases that arise from the burning fuel within the tank when same is lighted and further, to provide an improved self-acting, self-adjusting ventilator for the tank of the heater and which ventilator is provided with means for igniting the liquid fuel contained within said tank.

A further object of our invention is, to provide an improved form of torch, the construction of which makes it especially applicable for saturating the wick of the stack lighter within an ignitable fluid, in order to ignite the stack gases and which torch may be conveniently manipulated to deliver ignitable. fluid into a pocket or reservoir that is associated with the ventilator and for igniting said fluid in order to ignite the liquid fuel in the tank of the heater.

A further object of our invention is, to provide an improved form of ventilator for the tank of the heater, which ventilator is mounted so as to be readily swung upward to permit liquid fuel to be readily poured into the tank and said ventilator including an automatically operable valve that is provided with a pocket or reservoir that receives the igni'table fluid utilized in igniting the liquid fuel Within the tank and said valve being counterbalanced so as to automatically swing into closed position when the lighting fluid within the pocket or reservoir has been consumed.

With the foregoing and other objects in, View our invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view of an orchard heater constructed in accordance with our in.-

' vention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an elevational View partly in section of the forward end of the spout of the torch that is utilized forigniting the stack lighter and for filling the reservoir on the automatic Valve of the ventilator and for igniting the fluid delivered into said reservoir.

Fig. 5 is a cross'sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken through the center of the combined tank ventilator and lighter and showing the same in its normal closed. position.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 6 and showing the ventilator and automatic valve in open position to permit the ready filling of the tank. with liquid fuel.

Fig. 8 is a plan View of the ventilator with the cover thereof swung into open position in order to. give free access to the valve within said ventilator.

Fig. 9 is a vertical cross section taken onthe line 9-9 of Fig. 8 and showing the self-closing Valve shifted into open position by the spout of the torch when the. latter is used for delivering lighting fluid into the reservoir carried by said valve.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line I0l0 of. Fig. 6.

Fig. 11 is a view looking against the underside of the self-closing valve as the same appears when removed from the ventilator housing.

Fig. l2is a plan view of. the rotatably mounted ventilator plate.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of our invention,. l0 designates a conventional orchard heater tank. of sufficient size to contain a substantial amount of liquid fuel, said tank having a low conical. top I I surrounded by a stack l2 and the latter being provided with the conventional louvers I3.

The upper end of the stack may be closed by a hinged lid or cover M, which. is open while the heater is in operation.

Positioned onthe-upper portion of the stack and secured thereto, preferably by means of a bolt l5,is asmall housing It, preferably formed from a single piece of sheet metal and curved inhorizontal section so that its side and upper edges fit snugly against the outer face of the stack. This arrangement spaces the lower edgeof the housing away from. the stack to provide an ample air inlet opening ll.

Formed in the upper portion of housing [6, is one or more horizontallydisposed slots l8 and the lower edges of these slots are bent slightly outward so as to facilitate the flow of igniting fluid into the space within the housing.

Positioned in the lower portion of the housing just above the air inlet opening, is a horizontally disposed wick 19, preferably formed of fibrous asbestos that is confined by a wire or wires 20, or by a screen and the ends of the wire or screen are suitably secured to the sides of housing [6. This wick is arranged so that its inner portion lies directly in contact with or immediately adjacent the wall of the stack I2 and thus the intermediate portion of said wick is spaced inwardly from the lower portion of the wall of the housing to form an air passageway 2| immediately above the open lower end I! of the housing.

The construction just described provides means for conveniently and effectively lighting the gases that pass upwardly through the stack, pecially the type of heater which burns at the top of the stack and which is known as the lazy flame heater.

The combined ventilator and igniting device for the liquid fuel contained in the tank is mounted on the conical top H of the tank and for the accommodation of this structure the top H of the tank is provided with an opening 22 and projecting upwardly around this opening is a collar or flange 23.

The lower portion of a short circular wall 24 surrounds the collar 23 and this wall is connected by hinge 25 to top H.

Thus the ventilator wall 24 and parts carried thereby are capable of being swung into full open position as illustrated in Fig. '7.

A disc 26, preferably formed of sheet metal, is positioned within the upper portion of wall 24 and constitutes one member of the ventilator and projecting outwardly at diametrically opposite points on said disc, are pintles 21 that extend into bearings in the upper portion of wall 24 which bearings are secured by nuts 28, thereby mounting said disc so that the same may swing freely from open to closed position and vice versa.

Formed through disc 26, to one side of the axis formed by the pintles 21, is a series of draft openings 29 and secured to and depending from the underside of said disc between these openings and the edge thereof, a counterbalancing weight 30 that tends to move the disc 26 and parts carried thereby into closed position as the lighting fluid burns out of the cup carried by said disc on the opposite side of its axis from said weight.

Arranged on the underside of disc 26 and on the opposite side from the openings 29 and weight 30, is a semi-circular section 3| of heat resisting material preferably sheet asbestos and covering the same and secured to disc 26, is a plate 32 of sheet metal.

The construction just described functions as a fire resistant to prevent the flaking off of the asbestos that is positioned directly beneath that portion of the disc that carries a reservoir or pocket 33 and said construction also serves as a heat disseminator that retards the burning of the ignition fluid and thereby preventing said fluid from boiling out into pocket 33'too soon and which action would permit disc 26 to close before the liquid fuel within the tank has been properly ignited.

Secured on top of disc 26, directly above the sheet of wire resistant material 3| and plate 32 overlying the same, is a semi-circular cup 33, the open end of which is disposed adjacent the axis of disc 26.

Seated in the center of disc 26 is a pin or bolt 34, upon which is mounted for rotation a disc 35, a portion of the edge thereof extending into the cup 33 and formed through this rotatably mounted disc is an arcuate opening 36 that is adapted to register with one or all of the ventilating openings 29.

Projecting upwardly from the edge of this rotating disc 35, is a lip 31 that may be manually engaged torotate said disc from one position to another.

Suitably secured to wall 24, adjacent one of the pintles 22, is an upwardly and inwardly projecting finger 38 that functions as a stop to limit the movement of disc 26 and parts carried thereby when the same is swung into open position as illustrated in Fig. 9 by the weight of igniting fluid introduced into the reservoir formed by cup 33.

Connected by hinge 39 to the upper portion of wall 24, directly above the hinge 25, is a cover 40 which when closed surrounds the upper end of wall 24 and covers the pivotally mounted draft ventilator that carries cup 33.

Secured to and projecting upwardly from the cover 40 at a point diametrically opposite from the hinge 39, is a hook or finger 4| that may be conveniently grasped to swing the cover into open position as illustrated in Fig. 9 and which action takes place when lighting fluid is delivered into the cup or when disc 35 is rotated to regulate the air draft through openings 29 and 36.

The torch utilized for impregnating the wick 19 with ignitable fluid and for igniting said wick and for delivering lighting fluid into cup 33 and igniting same, comprises a small container 42 provided with a handle 43 and projecting from the upper end of said container is a spout 44 having a curved upper end 45.

Formed in the forward portion of the curved forward end 45 of the spout immediately to the rear of the upper end thereof, is a slot or opening 46 and arranged within the curved portion of the spout immediately below this opening, is a partition 4! that provides a duct 48, one end of which terminates adjacent the straight portion of the spout 44 and the other end terminating adjacent the lower end of opening 46.

The space within the curved portion of the spout on the opposite side of partition 41 from the duct 48, is filled with a wick 49 and a portion of this wick projects through opening 46 and the upper end of said wick projects a slight distance beyond the upper end of the spout.

The end of the spout thus constructed enables igniting fluid to be readily poured from the torch and which fluid passes through duct 48 and discharges from opening 46 through the slots l8 in housing !6 to impregnate wick l9 and likewise for pouring igniting fluid into the cup 33 as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 9.

In the operation of our improved orchard heater the ventilator housing comprising the wall 24 with the cover 46 in closed position, is grasped and swung upwardly and outwardly into the position shown in Fig. '7 in order to permit liquid fuel to be poured into the tank through opening 22.

The ventilator housing is now swung into closed position as illustrated in Fig. 6 and cover 40 is now grasped and swung into open position as illustrated in Fig. 9.

The end of the spout of the torch is now positioned in the upper portion of cup 33 and the plate 26 and parts carried thereby are swung into a position substantially at right angles to the plane occupied by the top I! of tank l6, which movement carries the cup 33 downward and elevates the counterbalancing weight 30.

Igniting fluid discharges from the end of the spout of the torch and passes into the cup or reservoir 33 and the weight of this fluid delivered into the reservoir overbalances the weight and thereby maintains the plate 26 and parts carried thereby in a substantially upright position.

At the time the cup 33 is filled some of the igniting fluid is poured from the torch onto the surface of the liquid fuel in tank it in order to bring about a comparatively rapid lighting of the liquid fuel when the burning lighting fluid overflows from reservoir 33.

The flame from the lighted end of the wick 49 carried by the torch, ignites the fluid delivered into the cup, thereby causing said fluid to boil and overflow the upper edge of'the cup and this ignited fluid drops onto the surface of the liquid fuel within tank 10 and in a short time ignites the latter so that it burns and produces the desired heat.

After the greater portion of the fluid introduced into cup 33 has burned away weight 3!] acts to automatically swing plate 26 and parts carried thereby back to its closed position, thereby restricting the draft entering the heater and this disc may now or later be rotated so as to regulate the amount of air admitted to the tank through openings 29 and 36 to support combustion of the liquid fuel. This adjustment is usually maintained during the entire season.

The combustion of the liquid fuel in tank l0 during the starting period, develops certain gases which pass off through the stack and in order to ignite these gases the housing l6 and Wick l9 are provided.

Immediately after the liquid fuel in tank H] has been ignited as just described, the end of the torch is positioned directly above housing l6 and ignitable fluid discharges from said torch through the slots I8, thereby impregnating wick l9 and the fluid thus delivered to the wick is ignited from the flame at the end of the torch and the flame from the wick passes upwardly through the louver immediately beneath the housing l6 and such flame passes upwardly through the upper portion of the stack to ignite the ignitable gases that have escaped from the burning liquid within tank I0.

Among the advantages of our improved ventilating and ignition device are, the saving of the foliage on the trees due to the closing of the draft at the proper time, also minimizing the replace ment of equipment by adjusting the heater so that the same will not operate at too high a temperature before regulating and the saving of fuel due to the closing of the draft at the proper time.

Thus it will be seen that we have provided lighting and ventilating attachments for orchard heaters that are relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in accomplishing the results for which they are intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of our improved orchard heater attachments may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a draft regulating device for an orchard heater, the combination with an air conduit,

damper means pivotally mounted in said conduit and normally biased to restrict air flow therethrough, said damper means including an open mouth combustible fluid container and being operable when filled with fluid to bias said damper means toward open position.

I 2. The combination with an orchard heater and its tank, said tank having an opening in its upper portion, of an air conduit hinged to said tank and adapted to surround the opening therein, a damper pivotally mounted in said conduit and normally biased to restrict air flow therethrough, said damper means including an open mouth combustible fluid container and being operable when filled with fluid to bias said damper toward open position.

3. The combination with an orchard heater and its tank, said tank having an opening in its upper portion, of an air conduit hinged to said tank and adapted to surround the opening therein, a damper pivotally mounted in said conduit and normally biased to restrict air flow therethrough, said damper means including an open mouth combustible fluid container, being operable when filled with fluid to bias said damper toward open position and a cover for said air conduit.

4. In an orchard heater, the combination of a tank provided with a cover member having an air inlet opening, damper means pivotally mounted in said air inlet opening, a weight carried by said damper means at one side of the pivotal axis thereof and biasing said damper means toward a position to restrict flow of air through said air inlet opening, and a fuel cup carried by said damper means at the opposite side of said axis and being operable when filled with fluid to cause movement of said damper means toward open position.

5. In an orchard heater, the combination of a tank provided with a top member having an air inlet opening, damper means pivotally mounted in said air inlet opening and provided with an opening of less size than said air inlet opening, a weight carried by said damper means at one side of the pivotal axis thereof and biasing said damper means toward a position to restrict the flow of air through said air inlet opening, and a fuel cup carried by said damper means at the opposite side of said axis and being operable when filled with fluid to cause movement of said damper means toward open position.

6. In an orchard heater, the combination with a tank, of an air conduit on the top of said tank, a plate pivotally mounted in said conduit, said plate being provided with an opening, a disc mounted for a rotary movement on said plate and provided with an opening that is adapted to register with the opening in said plate, a weight carried by said plate and positioned at one side of the pivotal axis thereof and biasing said plate toward a position to restrict air-flow through said conduit, and a cup carried by said plate and positioned at the opposite side of said axis.

7. In an orchard heater, a tank, an air conduit on said tank, a hinged member for controlling the flow of air through such conduit, means carried by said member for normally holding same in position to cut off the flow of air through said conduit and an open mouthed combustible fluid container carried by said hinged member and adapted when filled with fluid, to overcome said holding means and move said hinged member into open position.

RALPH R. BRUNER. LEE ROY REDDEN. 

